Bigger Than This
by ella012
Summary: Distance. Rumors. Misunderstandings. Mistakes. Love has to be bigger than this.    *Zayn Malik, OFC, One Direction, X Factor, Up All Night*
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** I am **not** affiliated with the band nor have I met them in person. The lads are portrayed the way I imagined them and the events are purely fictional.

**Note:** This is the first fiction I wrote after two years of creative writing hiatus and this is also my first One Direction fiction. Don't be so cruel, but **review** away. I'd appreciate it. :)

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><p><strong>Prologue<strong>

Doctor. I think that's one of the first words I learned when I was starting to talk. I'm exaggerating of course, but that word has to be the most overused in my vocabulary.

I flip through my notebook again willing all the words to magically stick to my brain. Midterms start the next day and my brain was already giving me a hard time.

The thing about being in the medical track is that you have to be committed. It wasn't something you dove into head-first. With that said, I think that's exactly what I did. I should've taken more time to think things through before I set myself up for this.

The thing is, I grew up wanting to be a doctor. At four, I had the complete medical tools in my room – the plastic and rubbery kind of course. I would spend hours treating my sick dolls and bears for diseases that I believed existed. At seven, I already had my career planned out. When asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, "A doctor." I would answer without hesitation. At seventeen, I wrote down the best pre-med courses on all the applications I sent out to the best universities.

A doctor. I was so sure I wanted that for myself.

My phone vibrates again. After attempts of ignoring it the whole afternoon, I finally pull it out of my drawer.

_How's the review going? X_

It's Zayn, checking up on me. We had a fight days earlier and aren't really on good terms, but I feel my heart flutter at the thought that he still remembered how much things in school bothers me. Despite everything, he still wants me to know he cares.

_Not so great. Need to get back to it though. Talk to you soon._

I press send and set my phone in front of me. After ten full minutes, I decide I'm not going to get a reply. We are back at it again, the silent war that is harder to resolve than when someone threw a fit.

I shove my phone back into the drawer and stare at the books and papers spread across my bed. With a huge sigh, I plop myself next to the mess and try to concentrate again.

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><p><em><strong>Footnote:<strong> If you really like this and think it's worth your time, I would really appreciate if you head on to One Direction Fan Fiction (link on my profile) and leave me a reviews there as well. I started this for a contest and it would be lovely if I won. Cheers!_


	2. Chapter 1

About the same day I learned to take the bus by myself, my mother sent me out to do errands while she finished up in her clinic. As glad as she was to do her mum duties, I knew she was thankful that she didn't have to drive me around quite as often. Ever since, she would ask me to pick up some stuff for her. Although I never complained, it wasn't something I looked forward to.

Tonight, she has got me on one of her errands again. It's the first time she ever sent me to do one so late though. It's also the first one I would gladly do any day.

I adjust the strap of my overnight bag so it rests comfortably on my shoulder. Scanning the driveway again, I rub my hands together to keep warm. A few minutes pass, and finally her car is in view. I raise the paper bag filled with everything she had texted me to buy and slide into the passenger seat.

"He didn't want to be left by himself." She motions to a lump under a sheet in the back. I glance behind me and smile back at her. She pulls out into the street and we're on our way. Instead of our usual banter, we decide to remain quiet in case the noise disturbs his sleep.

My mom was the head of the out-patient unit of the community hospital. When she went home a week ago, she kept going on and on about the boys who came to get checked by her. I later found out my mom was in one room with One Direction. Needless to say, I was jealous of my own mother.

Earlier this morning, she got a call from their management asking if she could look after Zayn because the sore throat he had when my mum checked him became worse and he lost his voice. My mum didn't ask me to help her. I was pretty bummed but I let her get to it anyway. She was always professional when it came to her job, so I felt I was in no position to ask for favours.

Late this afternoon though, she called home to ask me to run to the store and pick up medicine and some other things. Then, she finally asked me to help her with Zayn, to which I very enthusiastically agreed to.

"Zayn?" My mom taps his shoulder softly. "Get yourself back in the house. We're here." She says softly.

I watch her tap his shoulder again. His eyes flutter open and he looks from her to me. He smiles tentatively and gives me a small wave. I smile back and stick out my hand. "I'm Cole." I say confidently. He shakes my hand.

"He's not allowed to talk, honey." My mom turns to me before she grabs her purse and waits for me and Zayn to climb out of the car. We follow him in, but I stop at the foot of the stairs. Zayn is already halfway up on his way to his room. My mom leads me to the living room where her own overnight bag was resting on a chair.

"Why don't you go check on him while I prepare his dinner and medicine?" She pushes me toward the staircase and disappears into what I assume is the kitchen. I quietly make my way up and stop at the only door that is closed. I knock lightly and wait for someone to open it, or make a sound at the very least. When I got neither, I knock again and push the door open.

"Hey. My mum sent me up to check on you." I say when I find him sitting up in his bed. He has a blanket wrapped around his body and is surrounded by a huge pile of pillows.

"I'm fine. Sorry I went up here right away. I had to pee." He says roughly before clearing his throat.

I laugh and tell him it's okay. "She'll have your dinner up in a while and then maybe you could get some sleep." I add.

"Tell her we could all eat together downstairs. I'll be right down." He smiles sweetly. I nod and turn to leave. "Don't tell her I talked? She's been trying to keep me quiet the whole afternoon. I think I've forgotten how my voice sounds like." He adds sheepishly.

I make a 'lips are sealed' motion and close his door behind me. I tell my mum he will be coming down and start to set the table. Zayn descends the stairs before my mum is done so we sit at the table and wait for her.

"Your mum mentioned you're in university already. She says you want to be just like her." He says conversationally.

"Yeah. It's something we've talked about for a while." I reply.

"Do you have school tomorrow? You shouldn't be up so late. I feel bad for her having to call you." He has a genuinely sorry expression.

"I have about a week off school. We just finished midterms. Don't stress about it." I say.

"Zayn, no talking. Coleen, don't make him talk." My mum comes with bowls of creamy soup which she sets in front of us whilst scolding us for not listening to her. Zayn smiles at me from across the table and I playfully roll my eyes.

After dinner, mum sets some tablets in front of Zayn and orders him to take them. He does so in one gulp and mouths a thank you to her. She tells him to head to bed and gets started on clearing the table. Once she's in the kitchen, Zayn looks at me with a smile again.

"I told you she doesn't want me talking." He whispers.

"I heard that Zayn. Go to bed. Coleen, make sure he gets there and please don't talk to him!" My mum calls out from the kitchen.

"I will mum!" I call back and giggle at the face Zayn is making. I wait for him to jump in his bed and wish him a good night. I steal a glance before I leave the room and immediately blush when I get caught.

**Continued.**

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><p><strong>Note:<strong> There it is, a brand new chapter. Leave me a **Review**. I'd love to hear what you think.  
>Also, if you want to help me out with the contest this is written for, head on to my profile. The link is there. :)<p>

Cheers! xx


	3. Chapter 2

_**Note:** I'm sorry it's a bit too slow-moving for some. I'm still establishing their relationship and the sitch so the story is more enjoyable. :P I'm used to these kinds of writing._

_All the same, leave me a **review** and lemme know what you all think of this. :)_

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><p>Mum sent me home the very next day. She stayed with Zayn for another day, and then it was reduced to daily visits. Although I tried to hang around as often as I could, I never got the chance to 'run into him' at the hospital.<p>

"Mum I'm heading out for lunch. Want me to get you anything?" I call from the reception table outside her office.

"No, honey. You go ahead." Her voice is barely audible.

I return the folders I was sorting into the pile at the end of the table and grab my bag. Near the entrance, I hear a commotion outside and wonder if someone just pulled up in the ER. A few steps from the exit, I slam against a bigger, broader body and fall on my ass.

"Ouch." I mutter as I am being helped back to my feet.

"Sorry….Cole." He says my name faintly, unsure. I look up and see Zayn smiling.

"Hey, Zayn!" I say surprised. His voice is different. Better than the last time I saw him, and much sweeter than his voice on TV. He digs his hands deep into his pockets and mutters an inaudible apology again.

"Are you here to see my mum again? Her receptionist is out, but she's in there." I say with a smile.

"Yeah. Last check-up and I'm free." He pumps his fist in the air good-naturedly and I laugh along with him.

"It's good to see you better." I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. "Can you find your way on your own?" I ask.

"I'm sure I won't get lost." He chuckles. "See you around."

Quite unfortunately, I didn't see him after then. They went on tour for roughly two months and were back in the studio after that. In a way, it was good that school took up most of my time, but after a while it blurred the memory of ever meeting Zayn Malik.

"We don't have anything due for the rest of the week right?" I rack my brain trying to figure out the schedule I left on my bedside table this morning.

"Yeah, but we have Physiology reporting on Monday." Kristin says.

We round the corner and head to the direction of the mall. School had let out for the day so we decided to hang out for some well-deserved retail therapy.

Even from a distance, it's obvious that the mall is packed. I could only hear faint music, but the beat of the bass thumps loudly in my head.

"It looks like there's a sale, or maybe an event. It's not usually this packed at this hour." I frown.

"It's Tuesday! Aren't these kids supposed to be in school?" Kristin and I eye the girls who practically sprint ahead of us.

We're barely through the door when we are pushed back out by a wave of rowdy teenagers screaming at the top of their lungs. Kristin and I are forced apart by the crowd and I stumble as the girls elbow and shove me out of their way. I trip on one girl's foot and land flat on my back in the middle of the crowd.

"Oh shit!" I scream, positioning my arms protectively around my head to shield me in case I get trampled on.

"Woah, there." A voice says and I feel two pairs of hands grab me. The crowd has stopped walking, but I can still hear shrieks pierce through my ears.

I look up to see two very familiar and very good looking boys asking me if I was okay. It is hard to tell who the other is because his hood is up, but when I turn to the next, I instantly blurt out, "Liam Payne!"

"Be careful love!" He shouts over the crowd and pulls me along as it starts moving again. I am disoriented, but I just follow the crowd in hopes that I will not end up on the floor again. Security personnel usher Liam and the other boy into a van. He smiles at me before he turns to it. When the door swings open, I catch a glimpse of One Direction, and the crowd bursts into a loud cheer.

"Zayn!" I call out. I don't know how he hears me over the crowd, but I see him double take before sticking his head out the window.

"It's Cole right?" He calls out. I nod my head, a huge smile appearing on my face.

The girls beside me overhear the exchange and give me dirty looks, but I am too preoccupied to give them the time of day. Zayn beckons me over and a few girls run ahead of me. Security blocks our way. I here Zayn calling out to them, "Let her through! I know the girl in red. She's a friend of mine."

I could not see past the guy blocking me, but I could hear Zayn's voice sounding more and more distant. I hear a car door slam shut and the van speeds away. I shove the man away and stare after the van already turning into the highway.

I brush off the dirt that is stuck on my jumper. When I turn around, I see Kristin rushing toward me.

"Oh thank goodness." I sigh and walk to her.

"I lost you in the crowd!" She exclaims. "I started freaking out. I thought you fell over!"

"I did." I admit, pointing at the patches of dirt on my jumper that wouldn't come off. "I also almost talked to Zayn Malik!" I add frustrated.

"You have to give it up Cole. That lad knows way too many ladies to give a shit about you." She shakes her head and helps me brush off the dirt on my clothes. "At least you have almost-encounters. That's enough." She leads me back into the mall.

I take one last look at the empty parking lot and follow her in.

**Continued.**


	4. Chapter 3

_**Note**: This is for all you lovely people who reviewed, added this to your favorites and alerts, and those who added me to their favorites. I hope you like this next update. ;)_

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><p>I grab my laptop and jump on my bed quickly. I heard that the boys were doing a small on the road diary at the mall meet up when I almost talked to Zayn again. I log on to Youtube and immediately open the One Direction channel.<p>

Sure enough, a new video is up, dating 3 days. I click on it and wait for it to load.

It starts out as a random montage of the people in the store, then to the lads interacting with fans, then finally the music fades into the background and the boys are in focus inside the van. They talk about the mall event and the warm welcome they got. After some time, they talk about the most memorable moments of that day.

"A girl landed right beneath my feet!" Liam exclaims with a chuckle, and I feel my face heat up.

"Yeah!" Niall exclaims. He has his hoodie down. "That was crazy!"

With every comment, I could feel myself turning even redder. I want to hit stop, but decide to finish the diary anyway. Zayn is farthest to the right and only pipes up every once in a while, choosing to comment the least.

When the video is over and I have fully recovered from the shame, I send a text to Kristin telling her that the lads were talking about me in their video diary. _I could die of mortification._ I type in.

"Coleen, are you in?" My mum called from the bottom of the stairs.

I walk out to the hallway and reply, "Yeah mum. Just got back." I rest my arms on the railings, looking down at her.

"I got a call from Zayn Malik in the hospital today, that One Direction lad." She said. "He asked for your number and I gave it. Is that alright?" She starts walking to the kitchen.

"It's fine mum." I say before running to my room and jumping around. I send another text to Kristin, sharing my mum's news.

Three days pass and I don't hear anything from Zayn. I almost ask my mum if she was sure she gave the right numbers, but decide against it. I convince myself that maybe Zayn decided he didn't want to contact me after all.

A week, and still nothing. By now, I've already given up and yet I could not shake off the thought of him having my number. Every day I woke up with brand new hope, and every night I would sleep telling myself to give it up already.

As I pass the living room, I notice the envelopes piling up the table. I check the name on top, it was addressed to my mum.

"Doctors' Convention." I read quietly before turning to walk away. I stop myself and pull out the wide envelope at the bottom. At the back, the One Direction insignia was printed. I almost shout for joy, my mother has finally decided to buy me my first One Direction concert tickets.

I hurriedly rip it open and thumb through the papers stuck inside, not really reading anything. When I do not find any ticket, I start skimming through the papers for anything that could indicate that my mum bought me one.

Disappointed, I stuff the papers back in the envelope. When I do so, I feel the edges of a small piece of paper that remained inside. I pull it out to look, hope for tickets overcoming me yet again.

_Cole, Sorry I didn't get to talk to you the other day at the mall. Crew said  
>it was too dangerous. Got your number from your mum, but I lost it.<br>__Give me a call, would be nice to catch up._

_ Zayn xx_

His number was scribbled neatly at the bottom of the page. I stare at it for a full minute before I run up to my room and roll on my bed hugging the sheet of paper to me. I grab my phone and program his number in.

I'm about to press call, but quickly stop myself. He might think I was too keen if I called right away. I set my phone down and frown. I sit staring at it for a while, but I grab it quickly and dial his number before I could second guess myself.

He doesn't pick up, which makes me feel like a total idiot again. I decide to leave a message.

"Hey Zayn. It's me…..Cole." I clear my throat. "I got your note." I let out a nervous chuckle. "That's about it though. I'll talk to you soon…hopefully. I don't know." I end the call and cringe at the pathetic message I just left.

I quickly type a message to Kristin asking her to make me feel better about the situation, but I am cut off by a call before I could send it. When I check, its Zayn.

"Hey!" I say enthusiastically, maybe a little too much.

"Hey back!" He says cheerfully. "I'm glad you got the note. I'm sorry about the security people stopping you the other day!"

"Don't worry about it. They were trying to do their job." I smile as though he could actually see me. "What's up?"

"Me and the lads have the weekend off. On Monday we're headed to Riverside Children's Hospital for a charity gig. Should be fun."

"No kidding? I'll see you there then!" My smile widens even more.

"I gather they won't let a lot of people in for the event." He says politely. "Maybe I could stop by your mum's clinic after." He offers.

"You can do that too, but I work as a volunteer at the Children's Hospital. Mum's set me up for around a year now." I let out a small laugh.

"Oh then I will see you there!" He chuckles.

**Continued.**


	5. Chapter 4

_**Note: **I'm sorry the updates are getting slower. As you know, Christmas is right around the corner and on top of that, I'm planning a small party. I'll still update as often though._

_Thanks for the **reviews** so far. Keep them coming. :D_

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><p>I'm in one of the children s ward when the camera crew come in to set up. The children all crane their necks to see what the commotion is about.<p>

"I reckon you've heard of the One Direction lads?" I ask them.

"Yeah!" They all say loudly. "Are they coming in?" A little blonde girl named Karen asks.

I sit beside her in her little bed. "They should be here in a while. Would you like to do something cool for when they get here?" I look around at them. They all nod their heads in unison.

"When they come in here I want you all to start singing their song okay? What would you like?" I ask.

"What Makes You Beautiful!" Karen screams loudest. I agree with her since it s the lads most popular song at the moment. The little kids cooperate with each other and learn to sing it together.

A little boy named Drew asked me to accompany him to the loo. On our way back, the lads walk into the hospital. The camera crew is making a fuss over them so Drew jumps into my arms to get out of the way.

I wave to Zayn before making my way back to Drew's ward. When we get in, he jumps out of my hands and excitedly shares the news to his roommates. Once again, they are back to polishing their little performance.

A little later, we hear a knock on the door and Louis Tomlinson sticks his head in. Karen screams, "Go!" and they all start singing What Makes You Beautiful. The lads all enter with a smile as they listen to the little kids finish their song. One by one, they stop to talk to each kid. Zayn sits beside me on Drew s bed. He laughs as little Drew buries his face in my shirt.

"Is that how you say hello, Drew?" I whisper in his ear. "I thought you wanted to meet One Direction?"

He peeks at Zayn who is still smiling down at him and quickly snuggles closer again.

"You know, Zayn is my friend. Would you like to say hi to him?" I nudge Drew again. He puts on a brave face and, still grasping my hand in his, waves to Zayn.

I stay by Drew's side because he refuses to speak to any of the lads unless I introduce them as my friends. All the other kids do fine on their own anyway, especially Karen who charms most of them so much.

Before they leave, Zayn sidles up to me and whispers that he will pick me up after my shift. He says they were headed to another promotion, but that they were going to grab food and hang out before they head home.

"Sounds good." I say with a smile.

Drew crawls to my lap and faces Zayn. "Can I come?" He flashes a big smile, revealing the gaps from his recent dentist visit.

"Maybe when you get out of here." Zayn pats his head and smiles sweetly. With that, Drew is content and crawls away.

I decide to meet up with the lads because getting picked up was a little too high-profile for me. When I get to the restaurant, they're already digging into appetizers. I take a seat next to Zayn, and he formally introduces me to One Direction.

They are all sweet. Despite being so rowdy, they know where to draw the line. They are actually well-behaved, minding their manners and everything.

After paying up, they head to the back parking lot. I walk them to their car and bid my goodbyes.

"What? You re not coming?" Louis turns, stopping short of the car.

"Nah. You all head home. My house is right round the corner." I smile. They all say goodbye to me and get in the car. I head back in and get out through the front entrance.

"Liar." I get goose bumps and flinch. His voice was so deep and so close to my ear, I could feel the warmth of his breath. I turn to face Zayn, still a bit surprised to see him standing there. "Your mum mentioned which village you live in. It s not around the corner, Cole."

"What are you doing here?" I say in alarm. I pull his hood up over his head. "Get back in your car! What s the point of going through all the trouble of entering the back of the restaurant when you end up here up front?" I frown a little.

He pulls his hood down and starts walking to the bus stop with a chuckle. I trail behind him confused.

"I don t get it." I say in a small voice.

"The lads left me already. And you look so scared. Chill. I ll be fine." He laughs again.

"Fine." I pull his hood back up his head and cross my arms. "Where are you going now?" I ask.

"To get you home." He smiles and cranes his neck to see if a bus was coming.

"No. You grab a taxi and I ll go home by myself." I say defiantly before trying to hail a cab. He pulls my hand down and waves the cab away.

"You're only making this take longer." He takes down his hood and flashes me a teasing smile. I run up to him and pull it back up again. I frown more.

In the end, he agrees to a compromise. We take a taxi that will drop me off and then bring him home, that way I feel better about him having to go home by himself. He waves to my mum before the taxi drives off.

Before I even get to change out of my clothes, I get a text from Kristin already.

"Oh shit." I mutter.

**Continued.**

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><p><strong>REVIEW kids! :)<br>**


	6. Chapter 5

_**Note:** Because it's almost Christmas, I decided to put up the next bit. Tell me what you think about this?_ ;)  
><em> Come on people! It's Christmas! Send me your love through <strong>reviews<strong>!_

_**PS Happy Birthday Boo Bear! xx**_

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><p>Kristin immediately sends me a link when I log on. It's to one of the top gossip blogs in the country.<p>

**Girly Company for Malik**.

There it is in big bold letters at the top of the screen. I skim through the article until dark, low-definition photos of me and Zayn at the bus stop come up. The first one is of me looking angry and pushing him away. The next is of me pulling his hood over his head, but from the angle, it looks like we're kissing. The last is of him getting into the cab I was already in.

The bright side of this is that you cannot see my face clearly in any of the photos. Kristin just recognized me because of what I was wearing. The bad news, _'who could this little girly be? We'll let you in on the secret when we find out.' _is written at the bottom of the article, which means they will be out to get me.

"Pick up. Pick up. Pick up." I mutter as I pace in my room. "Zayn!" I scream out loudly when he picks up. "Are you screwed?" I ask immediately.

"Nope. It's just a gossip article. No biggie." He says nonchalantly. "Why? Are you?" He asks, suddenly serious.

"Mum doesn't know, but I don't think so." I sit down and stretch my legs. "So you think it will die down?" I ask, calmer now.

"Yeah. It's always like that in show business. People like to talk." I could almost hear him shrug. "Don't worry too much, yeah? I swear I won't say anything to the press."

"Well, okay." I sigh. "Thanks for dropping me off. You're home now, right?" I say, remembering he had just left a while ago.

"I am." I could hear him open and close a door. After a little more reassurance, I say good night to him and get myself ready for bed.

For two weeks, I blow off Zayn's invitation for get-togethers. He practically invites me to every single one he goes to. I always say I would try to make it, but I always give him an excuse a few hours before I have to show up.

One day, a sleek black car is parked in front of the school main building when I get out. As I near it, Zayn sticks his head out and waves me over briefly before rolling up the windows again. I shake my head and smile despite myself as I get in the car.

"What are you doing here, Zayn?" I say automatically, barely closing the door behind me.

"I'm kidnapping you." He turns the key in the ignition and the car roars to life. "You keep blowing me off." He says monotonously as he pulls the car into the road. Although I want to try to protest, I don't. I sit back and let myself get comfortable in the leather seat.

"Where are we headed?" I ask, putting my seatbelt on. Zayn looks at me with a slightly confused face.

"If I had known you'd take this lightly, I would've kidnapped you earlier." He chuckles.

"I wouldn't have taken it seriously then, but I just failed an exam. I need distractions." I put my arms behind my head and stare at the road.

"Well, in that case, we're going to Milkshake City for some cold, sweet comfort, and then we could grab something heavy and greasy from McDonald's. Get ready to be distracted." He smiles a little.

We end up staying in McDonald's. He drove us to a smaller joint a little away from the city proper. He tells me he and the boys had discovered the place one night when they were looking for a quiet place to stay in.

The staff is nice to him as he and the boys are regulars there. Some girls let out excited screams the moment he walks through the door and they come up to him and take a few photos. After politely doing so, he excuses himself and leads me to the counter to order.

We're fine for about half an hour, but then we see flashes from outside. We try to ignore the first few, but when it doesn't stop, I squint trying to see beyond my reflection on the glass. If it were just girls again, I wouldn't panic, but when I see two men with big cameras, I pull Zayn to his feet and drag him with me to the loo.

"Those are not fans." I say, once we are in the safety of the ladies room. Zayn looks around wearing an amused expression. I hit his arm and glare.

"Well, they already have pictures. What can we do about that?" He shrugs.

"I don't want to be involved in any of this!" I hiss and pull myself up onto the counter. He looks thoughtful for a few minutes, then he sits himself beside me.

"Well, we could go make a hasty escape, or we could go out coolly and ignore them. Your call." He looks serious, but the way he answers me is annoyingly carefree.

"I know I should've just said no." I face palm myself while muttering quietly.

"That's not fair." Zayn pouts and crosses his arms in front of him.

"Well give me an escape plan and we'll call it even." I glare at him again.

After watching him make a thoughtful face again, he pushes me out the door saying he has a plan. "Follow my lead, and don't screw it up!" He hisses before walking slightly ahead of me.

The moment we step out, the flashes from the two men start again. I think I give them a startled look because Zayn steps in front of me and whispers, "Don't mind them." He then proceeds to take my hand and leads me to his car. He opens the door for me and closes it when I get in. He then goes around and gets himself in. With that, he pulls into the road.

**Continued.**

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><p><strong>REVIEW<strong>


	7. Chapter 6

**Malik's Girl Yet To Be Named**

There it is again. His name in big bold letters on another article of the same gossip blog, although many others have already followed suit. I groan loudly and pout. This is worse than the first time.

_Zayn's little lady still has no name, but we now have a face to show._

The words are written below a blown up picture of me and Zayn walking to his car, his hand firmly wrapped around mine.

"I hate you for doing this to me." I say to his face on my screen.

I was shell-shocked when he grabbed my hand then. By doing so, he was starting up the rumour mill. When I asked him about it in the car, he shrugged and said, "They want something to talk about. Let's give them something."

I didn't say anything then, but the more I thought about it, the more I was sure that I did not want to take part in this side of his life.

"Oh, you two look cute together!" I jump in my seat at the shrill sound of my mother's voice. I hurriedly switch to a different screen, but she prods me to switch it back.

"Why is your picture on the internet?" She asks when I show her the page. She skims the article for a bit then asks if we really are going out. When I tell her we aren't, she points to our clasped hands.

"The camera people were bothering me." I simply say and shrug.

She studies our picture more while I sit beside her studying her face. A smile creeps up her face every few seconds, but they are small movements that I think I imagine them.

"Okay. That's enough." I turn off my monitor and face my mum. "I'll make him do something about this. I promise."

"Well, alright." She starts to get up. "I just think you look good together. The picture proves that." She gives me a small smile and leaves my room.

I turn my screen on again and look at the picture closely. Zayn is a few inches taller than me and he looks strong next to my slightly slumped structure. His hands are wrapped, not only tightly, but reassuringly, around mine. Looking back now, it was comforting knowing that he was so sure of what he was doing.

The week was a quick blur of the rowdy and harsh world of celebrities. The day after the article was up online, someone sent in my name anonymously. The next few days, One Direction fans, especially Zayn's, were keen on letting their thoughts be known. Girls of all ages were either for or against me.

I've heard about celebrity girlfriends getting death threats. Now, I am not in that level, but I'm scared everything is leaning into that already. What's ridiculous is that we aren't even really together.

After about two weeks of the whole thing picking up speed, the One Direction management call us in for a meeting. It's their way of controlling the fire that the press keep fueling. Zayn being in the meeting with me helps a little bit.

Kristin drives me to their office right after our last period. She's an avid fan of this debacle and supports anything and everything related to it. She doesn't even really care whether we screw it over or come out alive.

One thing's for sure though. She cares about me, and when I need saving, she's just around. That's basically why she is driving me to the meeting.

"Good luck." She wiggles her eyebrows when she sees Zayn stepping out of the building. He gives her a nod and waits for me near the door.

"Are they inside already?" I sigh heavily and give him a small smile.

"Yep. Ready to give you a good beating." He lets out a hearty laugh at my horrified expression. He links his arm with mine and pulls me inside the building saying, "Relax. They will be helpful about this."

The meeting is surprisingly helpful. Despite the very serious setting, the people are very laid back. They give Zayn a proper scolding for not being careful, but they don't do it in a scary way. Then they move on and pep talk us about what could possibly happen and how we should handle everything.

"Are you really dating?" The manager surprisingly turns to me. When I realize this, I sit back a little, before turning to Zayn.

"No." He turns to me with a shrug.

"Then why go through all this? You're not thinking straight, Zayn. And you're dragging Coleen into this." His manager says.

"I know." He looks thoughtful for a second, but his face immediately turns determined. "It's going to be hard to explain to the press, but what if we could pretend this happens for a while, then we could have a clean, mutual break-up and then we're back to normal." He looks around, like he just said the brightest idea. "Come on, Cole is an ideal girl for this. She wouldn't disappoint."

I turn red at his comment and bow my head. I am so sure they will kick his ass for this. He sounds ridiculous.

"Are you up for this, Coleen?" My head snaps up and my eyes connect with his manager's straightaway. My mouth opens and closes for what I feel like full minute.

They give me a brief summary of the pros and cons of going through with the said "relationship", and by the sound of it, the pros are far more beneficial. We both get to keep our reputations, their team will be able to back me up, and it will be easier for them to monitor my safety.

"Well?" Zayn pokes my arm.

I find myself nodding slowly, but then I turn to his manager and give her my verbal consent. They all shake my hand and tell me they will be in touch soon.

Zayn walks me out of the building. He's quiet, but when we are out, he turns to me with a childish grin. "You're my girlfriend now." He hugs me tightly and I just stand there like a stone.

"Oh God." I mutter.

**Continued.**

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><p><strong>Note:<strong> A little hesitant about this part, but there it is anyway. :) Drop a **REVIEW**. xx


	8. Chapter 7

I roll over in my bed annoyed by the loud ring of my phone. I start mentally kicking myself for forgetting to put it on silent mode before I went to bed.

"What?" I mumble into the mouthpiece. My eyes are still closed as I try to focus my brain to understand the person on the other end of the line.

"Where are you?" Zayn chuckles. Although I feel my mouth turn up a bit, I'm too sleepy to react more than that.

"In bed." I hold the phone away from my face as I yawn. "You woke me up." I pout.

I could hear him chuckling again. I could also hear faint music and voices in the background. From that, I assume he's not tucked snuggly in his own bed.

"Well get up. I'm coming to get you in a while." He says lightly.

I appreciate the fact that he's actually into pretending he was my boyfriend, but he didn't understand that I have never been in a relationship. The entire pick-you-up-to-do-couple-stuff thing was alien to me. To be honest, I didn't always think it was fun.

The past week, I blew him off to deal with school. We had a lot of projects and exams to finish and I really had to put all my efforts into it.

"I can't, Zayn. I've got school, remember?" I sit up in my bed and glance at the clock. It wasn't even 9am yet.

"Yeah, but you've been doing schoolwork for the past week. Your boyfriend needs you." I could tell he had a cheeky grin on his pretty face when he added the last part.

"One more week, I promise. Then we can do whatever you like." I stand up and start stretching. I have decided that today is dedicated to my projects.

After I say my piece, I still don't convince Zayn to leave me alone for another week. He continues insisting that we need to hang out; especially for the signing they were doing at the mall. He says the signing is also a chance to confirm our relationship publicly.

"All the more reason I don't want to go." I point out. I put him on loudspeaker and start getting myself ready for the day. I run a brush through my hair and splash water on my face.

"I'll make you a deal." The line is silent for a few minutes as he thinks up a good exchange. "You come by the signing, you don't even have to stay long if you don't want to, then I will help you with your projects. I won't leave until you're done with everything. Scouts' honour."

I glance at the piles of paper I stacked on my floor the night before. I had set them out to remind myself that I still had a lot to do. Looking at it now, the pile is huge but I take a deep breath and say, "Okay. If you promise to help, I'll go."

He gives me details like when the signing will start, when it ends, where I should pass and what I should tell the organizers. I write down the times as I want to avoid being trampled on again when they leave.

After jumping into the shower, I get my mum to drive me to the mall. I explain why I have to go there, but I leave out the part that Zayn and I are only a pretend-couple. She tells me she knew we would get along well; a statement which I roll my eyes to when I have my back to her.

When I'm through all the security procedures, and believe me, there are a ton of that, a man escorts me to the signing booth. Zayn's face actually lights up when he sees me, not in a forced way, but in a way that tells me he really is excited to see me. He comes up to me and gives me a quick hug and then he leads me to the chair beside him. I flash the other lads a smile when they acknowledge my presence.

"You're here early. I thought you were bound to come towards the end so you wouldn't have to stay long." He admits with a chuckle. He hands a girl her CD and smiles for a picture.

"I try to keep my promises." I smile inwardly as another girl stops in front of him and places her CD on the booth. Zayn gives me an approving smile once she has left.

For another hour and a half, I just sit between Zayn and Niall doing nothing. Once in a while, I would flash a girl a smile or say something to Zayn, but other than that, I just literally sit through the event.

"Thank you, everybody!" Zayn calls out loudly to the crowd. He stands up and pulls me up beside him. He allows me to walk slightly ahead of him, but his hand finds its way to my back every once in a while to guide me. When we reach the parking lot, cameras roll and flashes start. I do a good job of keeping my head down and following Niall to their car, but a woman strategically blocks my way and the crowd closes in on me and the three other One Direction lads. I immediately feel Zayn's hand take hold of mine.

"Are you together?" A million questions are thrown into the air, but that's the most common one I hear. I turn to Zayn, not trusting myself to speak.

"We're dating." He looks at me with a smile. "We'll see how that goes." He then moves closer to me and whispers "Hold on. The security personnel are coming to get us. Are you okay?" I give him a nod and a small smile and I feel him squeeze my hand.

The security people finally manage to get through the throng of people gathered around us. One big man takes mine and Zayn's arm and escorts us to the waiting car. After almost being pushed into Harry and Liam's lap, the door is closed behind Niall and Louis and the car is put on gear.

The driver drops me and Zayn off at my house. The lads agree on catching dinner together and I tell them I would try to make it. Not more than half an hour into the projects, I lean back on my pillow and close my eyes.

Zayn is lying on his belly on the floor. He is putting the pages of my essay in proper order and placing them in a folder. For someone who loved not going to school, he was pretty handy with projects.

"Wake me up in 5 minutes, okay?" I say to him. He nods and looks at me for a minute before attending to the papers again.

The next time I wake up, two folders are set beside me on the bed with a post-it on top. It was in his handwriting.

_The one at the bottom is the one for your History class. I tried finishing the one for  
>your English, but it is a little crap. It's still on your laptop if you need to change<br>anything. Hope you sleep well._

_ Zayn _

I smile and shake my head. That boy is unbelievable. I take the English folder and skim through the essay that he made.

**Continued.**

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><p><em>Happy New Year everybody! :) Thank you for all the reviews and favorites so far. Keep them coming!<em>  
><em>Also, I started a new fic for all the <strong>Louis-Styles <strong>fans. No it's not a slash, but they're both in it. Head on to my profile and check it out._

_Remember to **Rate & Review**! xx_


	9. Chapter 8

_Flying back to my college later today so I thought I'd leave this here in case I don't get another chance to for a while. Good luck with school for those of you who are back at it again. :)  
>I'm very excited about this chapter. I think I'm getting butterflies just imagining Zayn do these things. :" Anyway, I hope you lovely people enjoy this. Leave me a <strong>review<strong>, share your thoughts. :)_

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><p>I throw the folder in Zayn's lap and laugh at his startled expression. He picks it up and his face instantly lights up when he sees the grade my teacher had scribbled on the front page.<p>

"I didn't change a single word. You pass English, Mr. Malik." I chuckle brightly as I sit myself next to him.

I had texted him earlier when I got the paper back. I wanted him to see just how well he did on my project even though he thought he did a crappy job. I look at him with a smile as he skims through the pages again, reading and rereading comments that are scrawled on its corners.

"How did you do on your History paper?" He closes the folder and sets it on the table.

"Not as well as the paper you did, but I passed that one as well." I try to keep a straight face as he does a small victory dance in his chair. I can tell he is proud of himself, and quite honestly, I am proud of him too.

"Let's go." He drops some notes on the table and grabs the folder in one hand and takes my hand in the other. He pulls me with him to his car.

"But I thought we were going to celebrate?" I pout. The hell week in school ended 3 days ago, so to honour the promise I made that we could do anything he wanted after, I decided to meet up with him. He said he would be waiting for me in the café near my school so that I wouldn't have a hard time travelling given that I don't have a car and everything.

"Well, we were supposed to, but the management called. We have some emergency meeting at the studio. I'm actually late already because I had to wait for you." He rolls his eyes playfully. "I'll get you food on the way, then maybe we can head out for some nice dessert after. Deal?" He looks pleading, but his mind is already set on his plan.

"Deal." I slide into the passenger seat and wait for him to pull out of the parking lot. It's not like I could do anything about it anyway. This is his job and sometimes plans need to be worked around it.

Zayn ordered take-away on the way to save time. When we go around the entrance to the studio, a delivery boy is getting off of his motorcycle. Zayn goes up to him to pay for the food and he takes the small take-away boxes. He motions for me to follow him in. He just nods to the people we pass as they greet him.

"I will be back in a few minutes to check on you. You better be done with this when I come back." He gestures to the boxes he has set on the table. "I'm joking, but you start eating. I'm already done anyway." He excuses himself and rushes off to the second door down the hall.

With a chuckle, I pick up a box and start eating. It's getting later into the day and I can feel my stomach grumbling. I can see the sun making its slow descend through the window at the end of the hall.

"We're done." Zayn declares. Their meeting has gone on for almost two hours but he stepped out one too many times to make sure I was still in my chair waiting for him. Normally, I'm not as patient as this, but I had the urge to keep my promise to Zayn. He also waited for me in the café after all.

"Where are we off to now?" I ask just as the other lads pile out of the room followed by men and women in smart clothes. I smile at them as they pass and greet the boys when they stay with us.

"Do you want to see the studio? We're going to record some finishing bits of the songs tomorrow. You should come." Niall talks animatedly. He's the only one who doesn't look knackered. I glance at Zayn and see that he, too, seems a little tired.

"Maybe I'll stop by tomorrow." I give Niall a playful wink and thank him for inviting me. I turn to the other lads and ask, "Are you all heading home? Zayn and I are going out for some dessert. It would be fun." I wiggled my eyebrows at them.

They all agree to meet us at one of the swanky gelato place two streets down. I normally wouldn't go there, but their tired faces were enough to convince me. Besides, I don't get to hang out with One Direction every day.

When we get to the place, the lads are already sat around a long table at one corner. They are all slumped in their seats, but are chatting and joking loudly.

"What do you want? I'll order for all of you." I stand at the end of the table. Zayn gives me a death glare, clearly not in the mood to do favours for the lads. I giggle at his expression and tell him I'll handle it myself.

After getting their orders, I line up at the counter and run through everything again hoping to get it correctly. Zayn walks up to me with an excited smile.

"What?" I raise an eyebrow at him. I get cautious of what is going through his head.

"They're daring us to be a couple for tonight. They said we have to be able to convince them." He has a mischievous smile that I end up smiling back at. I ask him what is on the line and what we would get out of it.

"They'll clean up after me for a week. That's house chores and laundry!" His eyes lit up in excitement.

"What do I get out of that?" I swat his arm and laugh.

His smile falls and he looks suddenly thoughtful. He obviously didn't think I don't benefit from their deal. "I'll help you with your homework for a week!" He suddenly exclaims. "I can do your English homework for you." He wiggles his eyebrows proudly. "Besides, they'll make me run errands and everything if we don't win this dare." He pouts.

I glance at the lads and see that they have their full attention on us. I see Louis wink at me and chuckle as I shake my head.

"We can't have that now, can we?" I say as I grab Zayn's arm and wrap it around my shoulders. He laughs and hugs me from the back, resting his chin on my shoulders. Tingles run up and down my spine as my back remains in contact with his body. I feel awkward, but I feel my body relax against his.

When I return to the table with a tray of gelato, Zayn close behind me with another, I turn beet red as the lads whistled loudly. Zayn lets out a smug sound and sits on the couch next to Louis. He waves me over and I sit down next to him.

He grabs our cups of gelato and mashes the contents together in his cup. He grabs a spoon and holds it up to my face with a proud grin. I giggle and whisper, "Taking it to the next level, eh?"

After two hours, the lads finally decide to call it a night. They give me a peck on the cheek and playfully ruffle Zayn's hair. He is refusing to let go of me so as I say goodbye to the lads, I am sat so close to him with his arms wrapped around my waist. We've been sat like this majority of the night that it's already become comfortable.

When it's just me and him, he lets go of my waist and instead rests one arm on my shoulder. I sit back against him and laugh. "When will we find out if we did good on the dare?" I twist a little toward him.

"I think we did fine." He squeezes my shoulders and pushes me on my feet. "Time to get you home."

**Continued.**


	10. Chapter 9

_I know I've taken so long to update and I really am sorry. I have a long chapter to make up for it. I hope you like it. :) __**Review!  
>Shoutout to my friend Fatima who just started reading. ;) <strong>_

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><p>My mum steps out of the house the moment Zayn and I arrive like she had been waiting for us all day. We burst out laughing at how eager she is to see us. When I step out of his car, my mum calls out, "Invite him in, Coleen!"<p>

When I turn to Zayn, he has already killed the engine and is making his way out of the car. He has a small smile as he goes around the car and falls into step next to me.

"Round Two for the couple dare." He whispers before putting his arms around my shoulders. I shake my head, but smile despite myself.

Once inside, she sets out milk and cookies for us and I roll my eyes. Zayn politely takes a cookie and a glass of milk, although I can tell he finds it amusing.

"How's your voice now, Zayn?" She turns to him with a sweet smile. My mum is usually embarrassing, but I'm surprised by how much she seems to act normal around Zayn.

They talk about his voice, the tour and just about everything my mother could think of that Zayn is involved in while I sit there listening to them. I like the situation. They are at ease with each other that I don't even have to play mediator for them.

"So, are you serious about dating Coleen?" My mother finally asks. Of course I should've seen this coming. Zayn and I automatically look at each other. He is smiling, but I assume horror is written all over my face.

"We're not really together at the moment, but I think it's getting there. I really like Cole, and I like hanging out with her. I don't know if she feels the same way though." I look at him, my mouth slightly ajar. How could he tell my mum this when he knows we are due to "break up" in a matter of time? It would break her heart when that time finally happens.

"Oh she likes you!" My mum exclaims and the look of horror on my face quickly turns into a look of mortification. "Remember when I asked her to help when you were sick and you were so worried that I had forced her? Well, I didn't have to beg her at all. The words _Zayn_,_ sick_ and _help_ did the trick." She continued.

I grab a cookie and nibble on it while I keep shooting my mum a warning look. My brain is begging her to stop. Zayn, on the other hand, is enjoying the conversation. He keeps looking at me smugly while egging my mother on for more.

"For a week she insisted on waiting for me at work when she normally just found her way home. Of course at first I thought it was sweet that she missed car rides with me, but then she stopped going when you went on tour. I wonder why." She turned to me as Zayn stifled a laugh.

"That's it. Thank you for the milk and cookies mum. I'll clean up here. Good night." I practically push her out of the kitchen and up the stairs. She gives me a peck on the cheek and says good night.

When I return, Zayn is still in his seat finishing the glass of milk in front of him. He doesn't say anything, but the mocking look on his face and his laugh gave everything away. He thought I was lame.

"Oh shut up." I swat his arm and start putting away the plates. He stands up and helps me move them to the sink.

"You're mum's cool." He said, mocking expression still on his face. I roll my eyes at him and continue cleaning. He sits on the counter watching me with a smile.

When I finish, I turn to him and ask, "Are you heading home already?"

"What do you have in mind? I can stay for a while." He slides down from the counter. "Do you have class tomorrow?"

"Yeah, but it starts at 10 so I can stay up for a bit. Want to hang out at my room?" He follows me quietly up the stairs and into my room.

I turn the TV on while Zayn sits on my bed. I give him the remote and excuse myself. I could hear MTV adverts from the bathroom as I brushed my teeth and combed my hair. When I return, Zayn is lounging on my bed hugging my stuffed bunny.

"Scoot." I announce as I sat on the bed next to him. He only wiggles but doesn't scoot over at all. "Scoot, Zayn!" I say louder. He just glances at me and moves a few inches.

"I like this show." He mumbles quietly, eyes still glued to the screen. Is She Really Going Out With Him is on and he is really into it that he doesn't notice when I giggle.

I'm not a fan of reality shows, but I sit back on my pillows and watch with him anyway. After a few minutes, I let out a bored yawn and close my eyes assuming he would wake me up when he was done watching.

The next time I open my eyes, the TV is still on with what I assume is another episode of Is She Really Going Out With Him as the people are different. I'm still cramped in one side of the bed while Zayn lounged comfortably on the other although he's a bit closer to me than before. This boy really loved his reality shows.

When I glance at the clock, I see 3:45. I double take thinking my eyes are deceiving me. When I check again and see the same numbers, I sit up and turn to Zayn. He isn't watching like I assumed he was. He is curled up towards me still holding the bunny against his chest, his mouth is slightly ajar. He looks so delicate curled up in a pink bed with a bunny in his hands. I start to giggle, covering my mouth too late.

He stirs, and finally opens his eyes and looks at me. "Wake me up in 10 minutes then I'll go home." He mumbles.

"It's almost 4 in the morning Zayn." I say simply. He grumbles and twists around in bed. He moves to the center and lies flat on his back. His breathing slows and gets heavier again.

I shake my head slightly. He really was tired after the meeting. I should've let him go home after that. I lay back again deciding that I'll wake him up around six so that he could leave before my mum was up. She wouldn't take it well if she found out that he spent the night in my room. I close my eyes too.

The next time I open my eyes, I almost forget to breathe. I'm face to face with Zayn Malik, his breath rolling off my cheeks. Before I get to move, his eyes flutter open and he smiles at me. I smile back, and then remember he needs to be out of the house before my mum is up.

I sit up in bed so quick that my head spins slightly. When I turn to the clock on my table, it reads 7:15AM. "Shit shit shit shit." I mumble pacing around. My mum is bound to be up by now.

"Oh shit. It's seven already?" Zayn says, obviously just realizing that he spent the night in my room.

"I know. I woke you up around four but you went back to sleep." I pace around trying to think straight. Just at that moment, I hear my mum in the hallway.

"Coleen? Are you up? Coleen! Why is Zayn's car still in front of the house?" Her voice is getting louder and louder as she comes nearer my door.

Zayn and I exchange a look and he dives under the bed, away from view. My mum pushes my door open and finds me standing near my window with a panicked look on my face. "Good morning mum." I say innocently.

"Why is Zayn Malik's car still in front of my house?" She repeats.

"He…" I rack my brain for an excuse. "He took a cab home last night. I think his car broke down. I'll call him later to see when he'll get someone to pick it up." I thank the heavens that I'm blessed with a quick mind.

My mother looks at me for a minute before nodding, signalling that she bought it. I sigh inwardly and tell her I will be down for breakfast in a while.

"I'm off to work in a few. I got calls early today and I need to be in." She says. I say my goodbyes to her and watch her leave my room.

When she's gone, Zayn crawls out of his hiding place chuckling. "You're good at lying." He commends me. I hit his arm lightly.

"She'll be leaving in a few minutes. Ten minutes after that, you're safe. Be careful not to drive up her route though, just in case she turns back for anything." I instruct.

An hour later, I flop on my bed, already drained. My mother is out of the house and so is Zayn. He gave me a peck on the cheek before he left and apologised for the unexpected sleepover. I said it was fine and let him get on his way.

When I glance at the clock, it's almost 8:30AM. Great. On top of everything, I'm running late.

**Continued.**


	11. Chapter 10

_Hello lovely readers! I'm truly sorry I haven't updated in so long. I was supposed to put up this chapter on Zayn's birthday but my internet got screwed up that day. I only got it back today._

_I had a really hard time writing this chapter, but anyway, I hope you like it. Hopefully, I'll have the next bit within the next few days. Look out for it. __**Review! ;)**_

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><p>The week was pretty quiet after that. Zayn was preoccupied at the studio so he didn't have time to come around anymore. I also had my fair share of school requirements so the separation thankfully did us some good. In between though, he still texted and called like a good boyfriend who is dedicated to our <em>relationship <em>would.

"Should I let you get off your phone in case your boyfriend decides to call?" Kristin says. We have been calling each other for the third night in the row trying to finish our report. Although we are technically done, polishing our work is just as much effort as actually doing it.

"Nah. He called earlier to say he's going out. He says his friends are in town so he might have a late night." I shrug, reading the same paragraph for the fourth time. "The sixth paragraph is okay. I don't think we can write anything better than this." I say before moving on to the next section.

"Do you like him, Cole? Be honest." Kristin says bluntly.

At first I laugh, but as I consider it, I realize it's nowhere near funny. I'm pretty sure the fan girl in me would immediately say that I love Zayn to bits, but I didn't see him as a member of One Direction anymore. Of course I am reminded of that more often than I would want to, but hanging out with him has made him more like a real person to me. From those times, I am more aware that he had quirks that would supposedly make him less perfect, but they made him more loveable anyway.

_Do I like him?_ It was an easy yes or no question, but if I had to answer that, I couldn't just stop at the yes or the no. It was more complicated than that.

"I don't know." The words leave my mouth with an unsure tone.

He is amazing. I'm sure of that. Despite being so impulsive and hard-headed sometimes, he has this persistence that I guarantee will get him far. Yet, I'm scared that one day I'll like him, but he'll be too good for me.

So I come up with _I don't know_ because it doesn't say I like him, but it doesn't say I don't either.

I hurriedly dismiss the conversation after that. Kristin gives me hell, but soon lets me get away with it anyway. We finally give up and say we're totally done with the paper two hours later. After wishing each other a good night, we hang up. I head to bed a little after that as the next day unfortunately starts too early for me.

I'm not even halfway through the next day when Kristin comes up to me with a gossip article open in her tablet. She hands it to me and the first thing I see is a picture of Zayn leaving a club with a girl behind him.

"They think it's you, but we both know where you were last night." Kristin peers over my shoulder.

You really can't see anything about the picture, but the way he is positioned, hand near her, but not touching her at all and his body turned a little toward her, it looks all too familiar. That's how he was with me when the press are bothering us before we were _"together"._ He would walk next to me in the same manner, his hand near just in case he needs to guide me and his body angled toward me so that he could watch me from the corner of his eye.

"That's not me." Is all I say as I return her tablet.

"Well, at least now you can both break it off." Kristin jokes. She grabs my arm and we head off to our next class.

The first thing I see when I walk out of our school building is the same black car that was parked in front of my house just a week ago. The window rolls down and he sticks his hand out and waves. Kristin gives me a knowing look and walks to her car with a smile.

"Had a late night?" I say as I slide into the passenger seat. I know I'm not far off as he still looks knackered.

"Yeah. I missed my mates." He says as he pulls out of the parking lot. "Do you want to meet them? We can have dinner tonight."

Out of curiosity, I agree to go with him so he could introduce me to them, but I tell him I can only stay for an hour. He promises it won't be a problem and that he would drive me home all the same.

We stop by at the hotel his friends are staying in. They are already seated in the restaurant below it so we don't have to waste time on travelling. Zayn points to a table where three boys and two girls sit. They all stand up to greet us when they notice us coming.

From the slightly awkward introduction, I learn that they are Zayn's closest friends from Bradford. He admits to not having a lot, a fact I snicker at.

"Cole is your girlfriend, isn't she, Zayn?" His friend, named Marco asks.

He automatically slings his arm over my shoulder and pulls me to him and say, "That's what we tell the press. We're not really together though." He says nonchalantly.

Although I know it's true, I get kind of sad that he says this. I've been so used to hearing him say we're together that it already sounds true even to me.

Despite everything, dinner is good. His friends make good company, and for the first time, I see Zayn get noisy and rowdy with people other than his band mates. True to his word, he excuses both of us so he could drive me home, but he makes a stop at the loo.

"You know, you're lucky he treats you the way he does. He's only ever like that with girls he's dating." One of the girls moves closer to me.

I give her a smile. "You've seen him be with girls, huh?"

"Well, he hasn't been with many, but I remember the way he was with me when we were still together." I barely hold back a gasp. As I look at her, the picture from the article Kristin showed me earlier seems to float before my eyes. It's her, the girl the press mistook for me. Not only is she good friends with Zayn, but he used to date her.

"Ready to go?" We both turn to Zayn as he walks back to our table. She gives Zayn a hug, peering at me as she does so. They all say goodbye to both of us and we both set off for my house.

"Becca is the girl in pink, right?" I say casually as we drive home.

"Yeah." After a few minutes, he adds, "She's moving to town in about a month or so. She says she's looking for work."

I decide to keep quiet after that, but I still can't shake off the fact that they used to date, but they're still in good terms, enough so they could still hang out.

**Continued.**


	12. Chapter 11

_Hello lovelies. I'm sorry that I'm taking too long. The first quarter of the term is coming up and exams are starting to roll in. Anyway, here is the next bit.  
><em>_And to __**the anon who suggested I write some parts in Zayn's POV**__, thank you for the suggestion! I'm thinking of doing that if I decide to do a sequel for this. For now, I think it's easier to write it in one POV. ;)  
><em>_For the other kids who got comments and suggestions, the __**review**__ button is right under there. XX_

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><p>"I'll be out for a while later to pick up Becca from the station. She's decided to move in earlier. Do you want to go with me?" He is expressionless when he says this, eyes focused on the road and body relaxed into his seat.<p>

After a few minutes of silence, he glances at me, his eyebrows cocking up slightly.

"I can't. I've got another round of revisions for our report. We need to pass it again by the end of the week." I say simply, eyes on the road as well.

"Tell me if you'll need my incredible writing skills, okay? I'll help if you need me to." A smile plays at the corner of his lips and he shoots me a playful look.

I smile a bit too and finally reply, "That's okay. I think my incredible writing skills can handle it." He chuckles after I say it.

In truth, our paper isn't due for another week. I just didn't feel like going and hanging out with his ex-girlfriend. Not only was she the most awkward when I met his friends, but she was also the only one who didn't even try to connect with me; not that we would have anything in common anyway.

When we pull over at my house, the lights are still out as my mum isn't back yet. Without a word, he stops the engine and jumps out of his car. He takes the keys from my hands and opens the door himself, and then he proceeds to going around and turning the lights on for me.

I sit on the couch watching him get around to it. He used to watch me the first few times he came by my house. When he's done, he flops down on the sofa next to me.

"Do you want me to get you some tea? Or juice?" He props up his foot on the coffee table.

"This is still my house, you know." I giggle and sit up. "Do you want me to get you some?" I ask him as he folds his arms behind his head.

"I'll go get juice for myself. Why don't you go ahead and get ready for a long night of writing?" He disappears into the kitchen. I hear the tinkling of glasses and the refrigerator opening and closing a few times. After a few minutes, he steps back into the room with a glass of orange juice held up against his lips.

He makes a face when he sees me still stretched out on the couch in the same position before he went to the kitchen. "Postponing homework again, yeah?" He shakes his head with a small smile. I just wiggle my eyebrows at him, returning his smile.

"You better get started so you don't have to stay up late." He glances at his watch. "I also need to go attend to Becca now. Send me a text if you need anything, alright?" He steps back into the kitchen and I hear the faucet running followed by the jingling of glasses.

He shakes his head at me when he sees that I still haven't moved an inch. He walks over to me and gives me a hug goodbye.

"Drive safe," is all I say as I watch as he lets himself out of my house. I walk to the window and look on as he walks to his car, pulling out his phone and calling someone; probably Becca. Before he reaches his car and drives off to her, I close the blinds and make my way up to my room.

As soon as I get to my room, I turn my phone off and shove it in my bedside table drawer; out of sight. I try to go through my notes for my classes, but I'm on edge and impatient. I finally throw my notebook under my bed and close my eyes.

I wake up in the middle of the night with my lights turned off. I look around trying to remember if had gotten up at some point to get around to it, but I'm quite sure I didn't. I'm making my way to the loo when I notice a paper bag and a tumbler of coffee next to it on my table. When I open the bag, donuts and cookies are in it.

I walk over to my drawer and pull out my phone. As soon as it's done starting up, two messages register; one from Zayn and one from Kristin.

Zayn's read:

_Dropped off food and coffee through your mum.  
>Text me when you get them. Z<em>

I smile a little and look at the pack on the table. Mum must have come up to give them to me and saw me asleep so she turned my lights out. I decide I will thank him in the morning just in case my text wakes him up.

I open Kristin's message and immediately get a sinking feeling. Hers contained:

_Zayn's been out again tonight, hasn't he?_

I turn on my laptop despite the fact that I should probably get back to sleep. I immediately open the gossip site that let out our story. I already had it bookmarked in case they post some dirt about me.

When I open their homepage, an article about Zayn is on top of most articles. '_**Does Cole Know, Zayn?'**_ Is the title and right below it is a picture of him and Becca in a bistro. They both look animated as they talk over dinner. I don't even read the article; I just stare at their picture.

When I finally close it, I turn off my laptop and grab the coffee, dumping its contents into the sink. After I rinse off the liquid, I splash water on my face and jump back in bed.

For the rest of the morning, I stay under the covers until my alarm goes off. When I walk to the shower, I feel tired; like half the day has already passed me by. That's probably half true.

"Zayn's outside." My mother calls from the front door. She is already on her way out to go to work. I sit in the kitchen unmoving until Zayn appears in the doorway.

"Haven't you got school today? You're already late." He says as he motions for me to follow him to his car.

"Zayn, what are you doing with Becca?" I ask as he moves toward the door. He stops mid-step and turns to me with a funny face.

"You've seen the article, too, huh? She hadn't had dinner yet so I went with her." He leans against the doorframe. "I swear someone tipped the paparazzi off. They'd never get a story so fast like they did last night." His words are lightly coated with annoyance.

"I meant, do you like her?" My voice is softer. If he felt I was accusing him in the beginning, I'm sure he would think twice now. "It's okay you know. We're not in a real relationship. We can tell everybody we're calling it quits." I didn't actually want to say it. Being linked to Zayn, however untrue it was, is the best thing that's ever happened to me by far.

How often does a girl get to say that Zayn Malik is her boyfriend? How often does a girl get taken out in public by him? And how often does a girl get treated like a real girlfriend by Zayn?

The answer is: not often. I'm really glad I had that chance, but if he thinks it's time he found a girl who deserves the real thing, even if I didn't like the girl, maybe it is time that he did.

He looks confused for a second, but his face softens up. "It's nothing. Someone's told you we used to date, isn't it?" He sits down across from me. "We ended it for a reason. It got boring at some point and we couldn't really remember why we got together. We ended things so we could still save the friendship. I'm not about to jump back into that ship." He plays with his hands before his eyes connect with mine. "I do need you to help me clear things up with the press though. Hanging out with her has earned me some bad names."

Although I'm glad that he didn't say he liked her, I'm still unconvinced though I do not let on. When he motions for me to follow him back to his car again, I tell him, "Kristin and I have the first period off. She's coming to get me in a bit. Thanks for coming by, but you should get on your way as well."

When he's gone, I spend the next few minutes running around ang picking up my stuff. Kristin was already on her way when I called to make her go back for me. Taking the bus isn't the way if you're trying not to miss class. All the rushing about helps keep my mind off of Zayn and Becca until I have Kristin to talk to.

**Continued.**


	13. Chapter 12

"Ooh. We have a new one." Kristin mumbles through a bite of her cheeseburger. Her eyes are intently glued to the screen of her laptop as she scans the page.

"Its nothing new." She concludes. "They're just voicing out opinions about not seeing you and Zayn together in a long while." She closes the page and goes back to her search for new gossip articles about us.

I slouch into the bench, resting my head against the backrest without a sound.

I've been avoiding Zayn for more than two weeks now. I'm not mad at him for anything. I'm just a little annoyed that he keeps dragging me into his mess.

I was okay with him hanging out with Becca and was even forgiving when he mentioned he needed help cleaning his reputation. But he keeps going out with her to the most outrageous places I can't even begin to imagine the interior of. Sure, he can do whatever he wants, but he needs to leave me out of it.

"Has he said anything to you these past days?" Kristin glances at me sideways before biting into her lunch again.

"Yeah." I sigh and rearrange myself into a more comfortable position. "He calls everyday, but I don't want to hear about his adventures with Becca so I don't even bother picking up."

"Why don't you both _end it_? I mean, it's not real anyway. If you aren't planning on being seen out with him in a while, I don't see why you'd even bother pretending to work things out." She shrugs her shoulders as she tries to make sense of my situation.

"Oh trust me, I've asked him to do just that since day one. I don't get why he still wants me to play his stupid girlfriend. Becca's pretty much got that covered." Even to my ears, I can hear the tint of bitterness, but it's not only because Becca has stepped into the picture and taken over my role.

I expected Zayn to have a different approach to this. His friend needed his help, yes, I can see that, but he has to know where to draw the line. He's a celebrity after all. He has to take care of how people see him and Becca is taking that away from him. Reputation is everything in the business, and if he starts losing that, I don't know how far their management can endure before taking matters into their hands.

"I'm putting an end to this tonight." I hear a strong voice from behind us and immediately jump. I don't recognize it at first, but there's no mistaking Zayn Malik's voice.

I turn to face him, standing a few meters away from the bench Kristin and I occupy. I can see his car parked behind him, but the engine is still running.

"She's not my girlfriend. I don't know why you don't believe that, but there's nothing I can do about it." He spoke softer now, slower, but his face is still unreadable. Cold.

"I'm calling the management tonight and ask them how we can tell everybody we're done. If you don't mind, it's going to be mutual so we can both save our reputations." He begins to turn away, but stops short and turns back to me. He looks at me for a second with eyes flashing anger and unspoken apologies, and then he is in his car driving away.

I watch his car disappear into the highway, and stare at the same spot long after he is gone. I don't feel pain even when I watched him go, but I don't feel peace either. I know he's serious and he meant every word, but somehow, I have a feeling we're not done with each other. Not yet.

I spend the rest of the day with Kristin in the library. Thankfully, we didn't have classes in the afternoon or else I would've moved aimlessly around. After wasting my time there, she drives me home so I could end the day early and pretend nothing happened.

The next day is almost wonderful. I wake up early enough to catch my mum frolicking in the kitchen. I ask her to cook breakfast for me, and she gladly does so since we haven't eaten breakfast together in a long while.

After she leaves for work, I jump into the shower and get myself scrubbed up for another bout of school. I catch the bus just in time and find a good seat at the back near the window.

It's almost wonderful, except I get a call from their management halfway to school.

They ask me series of questions and unload information on me that doesn't make sense. Everything revolves around _our_ supposed break up, but I can't figure out why I sense the urgency in the air. Although nothing makes that much sense, I agree to stop by at their office as soon as school lets out.

After they hang up, I punch in Kristin's number and ask her what's going on. The school is just around the corner; I can already see its tallest building from the window.

"What did Zayn get himself into this time?" I mutter as soon as she picks up.

"He had a wild one last night, apparently." She says. "I've got the morning paper with me. You should see this."

I hang up and practically sprint out of the bus to the parking area. I spot Kristin's red jeep quickly and see her sitting on the hood scrutinizing the morning paper.

She hands me the page she is reading and the first thing I see is Zayn and Becca pressed against each other with their mouths connected into a kiss. It doesn't look sweet, it isn't forced either. It looks like they are ripping each other's clothes off.

As I study every detail of the picture, I feel my heart grow heavy and painful. I'm still not mad. I'm a bit surprised, but the thing I'm very sure about is that I can feel pain radiate from my chest. I suddenly realize that I don't ever want to see him be this way with anyone. Especially not with Becca who I'm sure he didn't love.

Suddenly, all the puzzle pieces fit. Their management was calling me in because the mutual break that was supposed to leave clean names for both of us no longer applies to Zayn.

Here they go again: expecting me to clean up his mess.

**Continued.**

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><p><em><strong>My apologies for being three days late:<strong>__ Just to inform everybody, I'm planning to update every Monday (or whenever I can). Look out, okay? And keep reviewing so I know how you guys are taking this. :)_

_Thank you for the reviews, favorites and alerts I've gotten. I hope there'll be more soon. XX_


	14. Chapter 13

_**Note:** Oh darn I missed Monday again. Sorry! I had all of this down already, but I couldn't think of a way to make it work. I don't know how this is, but I hope you all like it. **Review** so I know how it is. Okay? :)_

I sit in the huge conference room fidgeting. A woman led me in and told me to make myself comfortable as the people who called me in are still on the road over. With scary, black chairs that look professional in a threatening way, comfortable is the last thing I could be.

I stand up and stretch for the third time in a span of ten minutes. I drag a chair to the wall made of glass from floor to ceiling and look out to the busy streets. The sun is already on its way down, bathing the city in a drowsy kind of lighting. From the window, the late afternoon traffic looks pretty; A long conga line of honking cars. Pretty.

Just when I start to relax, the door swings open and a woman steps in, followed by a man. I immediately stand up and push the chair back to the conference table like a guilty child.

"Hello again, Coleen." The man smiles at me. I start to wonder where I've met him and get even more confused when I realize I haven't yet. "I was at the meeting Zayn decided to make you two _'official'_. We haven't been properly introduced though. I'm Mason, assistant vice president of public relations of One Direction. The VP is running late so we'll have to wait a little bit." He flashes another smile my way, and I conclusively decide that he's one of the good guys.

I take a deep breath, relieved that they're being pleasant to me. I know I'm not the one at fault here, but being in official meetings isn't really my thing. It always sends me on edge, that's why I try to steer clear from them.

"How are you and Zayn?" I realize he's only making conversation, but for a moment, I think he senses something is up between us.

"I saw him yesterday…he's fine. I think." I say with a quick shrug of my shoulders.

Mason carries on making small talk and successfully kills time. Before we know it, everybody expected is already in. They thank me for coming and explain everything at once. I was right, they needed a good plan to salvage Zayn's reputation.

I came in with apprehensions because I was so sure they would leave it all up to me to clear up his name, but after they explain their side, I realize they want nothing. They called me in to make sure I don't respond to the press; Never. But that's about where my role ends in the story.

After I assure them that they shouldn't worry about me adding anything, they wrap things up with me and tell me that I'm free to go as they had already consumed much of my time. Before I exit the room, I hear their exchange about reversing Zayn's actions.

"I've got another intern work at the children's hospital tomorrow. Zayn could stop by if you like." I offer, stopping short of the door. The room is still as they all look at me from the conference table.

"That would be lovely." Mason breaks the silence, shooting one of his smiles again. "We'll talk it out and we'll be in touch." With that, I give him a small nod and I quickly step out of the room.

Early the next day, they set everything up. Zayn is coming in around lunch and I am babysitting for him. They mean it. They warn me that some paparazzi would be tipped off, but that it shouldn't be a problem since they wouldn't be able to get into the hospital anyway.

My mum drops me off at the hospital and I start out the day getting to know the patients' records; Who's who and what's up with them. The children's hospital is a nice place to be when there's no emergency because the children offer a fun and innocent atmosphere. I like working with them, but by lunch, I'm a little fretful.

Zayn steps through the hospital doors around 1 in the afternoon. He looks clean and neat, more than usual. He greets me with a small wave and I tell him to follow me. He helps me with my tasks, arranging beds in the ward and changing sheets. He does this in total silence that even I start to get uncomfortable.

"How are you?" I say quietly as I change the pillowcases.

"You know how screwed up everything is, but I'm okay." He mumbles as he passes me a clean pillowcase.

We go on like that for another hour, but one of the hospital heads come and tell us to watch the kids in the small playroom. I'm not sure if my loud sigh of relief is hidden well, but I'm sure Zayn hears it anyway.

In the playroom, I sit in the middle helping the kids that come up to me with anything. One asks me to make her a clay elephant and I teach her how to. From the corner of my eye, I see Zayn sit next to a little girl. He tries talking to her, but she ignores him. I see him glance warily at me, but stay with her anyway.

More kids come up to me and ask me to make them clay animals. I put my heart and soul into the colored clay, but they all look nothing like animals. Nevertheless, the kids enjoy it.

The next time I trail my eyes over where Zayn is seated, I see him with the little girl sitting on his lap and two other kids sitting in front of him. He's singing to them softly and they are entranced by his voice. The little girl on his lap keeps poking his face as he tries to swat her hands away without coming across as mean.

I smile to myself and walk up to them. I take the little girl into my arms and announce loudly, "Would you like to sing along with Zayn?" The kids all gather around him. He looks at me with a doe-eyed look and I mouth, _'it's okay'_ to him.

The kids spent the rest of playtime with Zayn. It's actually very adorable. He let them do whatever they want to him, mess his hair up even, and he takes orders from the six year-olds like his life depends on it. The kids love having him around, and they don't even realize they are playing hide-and-seek with one of the country's famous singers.

A little after four, the head comes for the kids. Playtime is over and it is time to get back to their wards. One little girl boldly holds her hand up to Zayn and asks him to tuck her in. I pick her up for him and we bring her to her room.

"Why don't you come around more often?" She asks Zayn as she crawls to her bed.

"I'm a little busy with work, really. I'll come by again soon if you like." He chuckles.

After saying goodbye to her, Zayn accompanies me to the staff room where I start to gather my things. Personally, I think the afternoon is a success. Zayn spent an afternoon out of trouble and I'd like to think he actually enjoyed it.

When we step out of the hospital, a crowd of people with cameras and recorders gathers around us. Zayn walks ahead of me, but glances back every now and then.

I don't really fully understand what happens next, but the whole crowd closes on us and suddenly it dawns on me that there are more of them than I realize. I lose Zayn somewhere as some people pull him for comments. Others take me on and I just feel myself frantically sticking out my hand looking for Zayn's.

Somehow, I find him and he pulls me back in the hospital. He grabs his phone and calls someone. I hear him say, "Wait for me on the side entrance in five. I'll be out."

"Stay here until they go away. I'll get your mum to pick you up." He starts to walk away before he finishes his sentence. He finds his way to the side entrance where I see his car is waiting with the engine running. The window rolls down and I see that Becca is behind the wheel.

"Don't. Don't go with her. This is all going to waste if you do." I say as I look from her to him.

"I can take care of myself." He mumbles as he scans the exit. Some of the paparazzi are near, but I reckon he would make it out fine if he ran fast enough. "I promise not to do anything stupid with her."

With that, he made a run for it and the car pulls away amidst the flashes.

**Continued.**


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